A Marvel of Fate
by OkayDokey33
Summary: Captain Marvel has a few choice words to say to the Lord of Order himself, Doctor Fate, for what he did to Zatara and Zatanna. Will Doctor Fate take it to heart?


The doors of the Watchtower's boardroom opened, letting out all the members of the Justice League to take a break from their long, arduous, tension-filled meeting. The agenda: should the League expand its membership, and if so, who should join? It seemed simple enough, but things took a gruesome turn when the League started to question the membership of those who were already a part of the League, namely Captain Marvel and Doctor Fate. The members of the League had just submitted their votes for each candidate suggested in the meeting and for the two members whose membership was put into question, and they were now taking a good, long-awaited break. All the members of the League were talking amongst themselves, except for a certain ten year old boy in an adult body, looking through one of the Watchtower's glass windows, looking down at Earth, a sad expression on his face.

"Why the long face?" two voices, blended together, asked. Captain Marvel turned around, to see Doctor Fate walking up to him. "Afraid of your chances of staying in the League? I thought that the wizard, Shazam, would've given you more of Achilles's courage than this."

Captain Marvel eyed the Lord of Order suspiciously. "You knew the wizard?"

Doctor Fate folded his arms and walked up to the glass window and stood beside the red clad hero, and answered (without even looking at him), "Does it matter if I knew him personally or not?"

Captain Marvel sighed. "No… I guess not."

For a long time, neither of them said anything, until Doctor Fate said, "You still haven't answered my question."

Captain Marvel's eyes grew wide in sudden realization. "Oh!" He gave him a goofy, apologetic grin and scratched the back of his head. "Sorry about that." He let out a weak laugh, before looking down, glum, and answering, "Yeah, I guess I am kind of worried."

The Lord of Order looked at him, and asked, "Why?"

Captain Marvel gave him a funny look. "'Why?'? Wouldn't you feel worried if YOUR head was on the table?" He thought for a moment. "If… well… you know… your head wasn't ALREADY on the table."

Doctor Fate looked through the glass window again, looking down at Earth. "I am a Lord of Order. Whether I'm a part of the Justice League or not, it won't hinder my ability to do my duty, to restore balance and order to the world."

Captain Marvel stared at the other hero in awe for a moment, before smiling, looking at Earth, and saying, "Yeah, I guess you're right about that."

After another long moment of silence between the two, Captain Marvel said, "You know, if you're kicked out of the Justice League, Zatara's going to be PRETTY mad at you. You taking his spot in the League was his idea in the first place."

Doctor Fate waved the remark away. "It makes no difference to me. He is powerless to do anything about it anyway."

Anger swelled up in the boy's heart. "You know, I'm really starting to get sick of your attitude!" he growled. "I don't care if you ARE a Lord or Order! People are NOT yours to use!"

Doctor Fate looked at him. "Oh?"

"Yeah 'Oh'!" Captain Marvel looked down and clenched his fists. "You took over Zatara's body, threatening to take away Zatanna if he didn't!"

"You've already said this during the meeting," the Lord of Order stated.

"I know I did!" Captain Marvel growled. "But there's more to it than that!"

"Then surely the Wisdom of Solomon will help you explain it to me."

Captain Marvel thought for a moment, before saying, "You can't just take away somebody's parents from them! It's… not right!" He looked down at Earth again, a sad look on her face. "Do you know what it feels like," he asked softly, "to lose your parents, to lose the people who have loved you and taken care of you since your birth?"

Doctor Fate shook his head. "No… I do not."

Captain Marvel was slightly ticked off by his indifference. "Yeah, well it sucks! When I lost my parents, it was devastating. For a long time, it was like my whole world just stopped. But eventually, I got over it. I was given powers by the wizard, and I found a new family, and sure, they'll never replace my parents' place in my heart, but they've helped fill in the void left behind when they were taken away from me. But Zatanna? Her father was all she had left! He taught her everything she knows about magic! Sure, they butt heads every once and a while, but for a family, that's normal! Deep down, I know they loved each other, immensely. Their final goodbyes to each other before you took her father away from her were proof of that. What was devastating for me must be ten times worse for her right now." Captain Marvel looked sadly at Doctor Fate. "And you know what the worst part is? That you don't even care."

Doctor Fate stared at the red clad hero for a while, before finally asking, "And what do you propose that I do?"

Captain Marvel scratched the back of his head in frustration. "I don't know! Maybe…," he thought for a moment, "be a little bit more sensitive about this?! I mean, at least show Zatanna that you understand what she's going through right now, you know?"

Doctor Fate didn't say anything for a while. He just looked out the glass window, not even looking down at Earth. It looked like he was staring off into space, looking at nothing in particular, lost in his thoughts.

Captain Marvel raised an eyebrow at this. He waved his hand in front of Fate's face and said, "Doctor Fate? … Fate? …Doctor? You still in there?"

All of a sudden, Doctor Fate grabbed Captain Marvel's arm and gently (but firmly) moved it away from his face. "Yes, I'm still here."

"Oh. Um… what were you doing just now?"

"I was having a conversation with Zatara."

Captain Marvel's eyes grew wide. "Wait… seriously?!"

Doctor Fate nodded. "Yes." He turned around and walked away.

This took Captain Marvel by surprise. "Hey! Where're you going?"

Without even giving Captain Marvel a glance, Doctor Fate answered, "An errand."

Captain Marvel ran after Doctor Fate. "An errand? For who?"

Doctor Fate kept on avoiding eye contact with him. "Zatara."

"Oh…okay." Captain Marvel eyed his suspiciously. "Why?"

Doctor Fate stopped walking and sighed. "You ask far too many questions. It's probably the childish part of you."

Captain Marvel looked away and pulled on his collar uncomfortably. "Yeah, well, if you hadn't noticed, I AM a kid." He glanced at Wonder Woman, who was currently talking to Black Canary and Hawkgirl. "It's kind of been one of the topics of the day."

Doctor Fate looked at him. "I don't understand why your membership was put up for re-evaluation."

"Well… I kind of betrayed their trust."

"How? By being useful to the League? By fighting faithfully by their side? By being a key figure during the incident with Klarion?"

"By lying about my real age!"

"And yet no one here knows everybody's secret identities."

Captain Marvel couldn't take this anymore. "Okay, let's change the subject. Why are you on an errand for Zatara?"

Doctor Fate sighed. "If you want to know so badly then by all means, come along with me."

Captain Marvel raised an eyebrow, surprised. "Really?"

Doctor Fate nodded. "I have nothing to hide."

Captain Marvel thought it over for a bit and shrugged, giving Doctor Fate a goofy grin. "Ah sure, why not?" He eyed the other members of the Justice League nervously. "Will it take long?"

Doctor Fate shook his head. "I believe not."

Captain Marvel smiled. "Sweet."

They walked up to the Zeta-Beam and Doctor Fate set the coordinates for Mount Justice. They were about to walk through it, when all of a sudden, a male voice from behind them asked, "Where are you two going?"

Captain Marvel cringed and turned around to see Batman, in all his intimidating glory. "We're doing an errand."

"What errand?" Batman asked.

"Um…," Captain Marvel looked to Doctor Fate for help.

"A personal errand," Doctor Fate answered.

Batman stared at the two for a long time, the tension of his stare almost being too much for Captain Marvel. "Will it take long?" he finally asked.

"No," Doctor Fate said.

"… Can you do it in ten minutes?"

Doctor Fate nodded. "Yes, I believe so."

Another intense stare. "Ten minutes… or there WILL be consequences." He turned around and walked away.

"Ten minutes, got it!" Captain Marvel called. He looked at the coordinates Doctor Fate set. "Mount Justice? Awesome!"

"I'm glad you agree with the destination," Doctor Fate said.

"Of course I'm glad! I can wish the Team a happy Thanksgiving while we're there!"

* * *

"Recognized: Zatara. One-one. Recognized: Captain Marvel. One-five."

Captain Marvel looked around. "Huh, where is everyone?"

"It is a holiday, is it not?" Doctor Fate asked.

Captain Marvel slapped his forehead and shook his head in sudden realization. "Oh darn it, that's right! If it's Thanksgiving, then they're obviously at home celebrating it with their families!"

"But there are some without families or homes to go to, correct?"

Captain Marvel thought for a moment, and then smiled. "That's right! Superboy and Miss Martian live here, don't they?"

Doctor Fate nodded. "And now Zatanna does too."

Captain Marvel eyed the Lord of Order suspiciously as he went off to do… whatever he came here to do and silently followed him; anxious to see what he had come here to do.

Doctor Fate opened a door to reveal Mount Justice's living room and kitchen, where M'gann and Zatanna were preparing Thanksgiving dinner.

Upon hearing the door's creaking as it was being opened, M'gann and Zatanna turned to see who had entered the room, and were shocked to see who it was.

"Oh," M'gann said, "Doctor Fate, Billy, what a pleasant surprise." M'gann and Zatanna walked up to the two heroes.

Captain Marvel cleared his throat, folded his arms, and said, "Billy? Who is this…Billy?!" He placed one of his hands on his chest. "I am Captain Marvel!"

M'gann and Zatanna looked at each other, amused, Zatanna folding her arms and M'gann placing her hands on her hips. "Alright…," Zatanna gave him a mock salute, "Billy."

Captain Marvel groaned. "You guys aren't going to make a big deal out of this, are you?"

The two girls laughed. "Don't worry Billy," M'gann reassured, through muffled laughs, "we won't,"

Zatanna, still laughing, added, "Much!" The two laughed even harder, to the point where the two of them were clutching their stomachs. They were laughing so hard that they had almost forgotten that Doctor Fate was still in the room, waiting patiently so that he could get down to business.

Apparently, Doctor Fate's intimidating stare was enough to calm the two girls down, and when they did, things suddenly became very awkward very quickly. Zatanna completely avoided eye contact with Doctor Fate while Captain Marvel kept his eyes on him and M'gann struggled to find a way to ease the tension between everyone.

"Um… so, what brings you two here on a day like this?" M'gann asked Captain Marvel.

Captain Marvel shrugged. "Beats me." He pointed at Doctor Fate. "I just came along for the ride."

"I'm here to do an errand," Doctor Fate answered.

"Oh," Zatanna softly said, stroking her bangs, trying her best to relieve some of the tension herself, "and what would that be?"

"To delivery something to you, Zatanna."

Everyone's eyes widened, Zatanna's especially. "Deliver something… to me?"

Doctor Fate nodded. He gestured towards Captain Marvel. "Captain Marvel has helped me to understand a few things about the bonds between parents and their children, and as today is a special day, I thought that now would be the best time to give you my condolences."

M'gann pondered for a moment on what Doctor Fate had just said. "Condolences…," she then smiled, and excitedly asked, "wait, are you going to let Zatanna be with her father on Thanksgiving?!"

As Zatanna's eyes grew even wider, Captain Marvel happily slapped Doctor Fate on the back and said, "Dude that is so cool! I take back every bad thing I said about you back at the meeting!" Sudden realization hit him. "Oh, wait, we have to be back at the Watchtower in," he looked at the clock, "six minutes!" He turned to Zatanna. "You think you can wait for your father after the meeting? Batman'll kill us if we don't come back on time."

When Zatanna didn't say anything (obviously too shocked to say anything at the moment), M'gann said, "Of course!" She turned to Zatanna. "Isn't this great Zatanna?! I guess this won't be your first Thanksgiving without your father after all!"

"If," Doctor Fate said, "that was what I was delivering in the first place. You all assume too much."

"Wait," M'gann said softly, "so… you're not going to let Zatara out for Thanksgiving?"

"Absolutely not!" Doctor Fate said. "Klarion takes no holidays! If anything, he causes more trouble on holidays than on regular days!"

"Aw come on man!" Captain Marvel cried. "It's just for one night! The rest of the League can handle Klarion if he and his cat pop up again!"

"My decision is final!" Doctor Fate countered.

"It's alright guys," Zatanna said quietly. "It's for the best."

After that, the two heroes seemed to resign. "So," M'gann asked Doctor Fate quietly, "what were you planning on 'delivering'?"

Doctor Fate held out his hand and, with a flash of light, a magician's hat appeared. He held it out to Zatanna. "This… is for you."

Zatanna, hesitant to take it at first, slowly received her delivery and examined it. Her eyes grew wide. "Is this… my father's hat?"

Before M'gann or Captain Marvel could get too excited, Doctor Fate quickly answered, "No."

Captain Marvel groaned. "Aw dude, you just missed out on getting so many points right there."

Doctor Fate ignored him though, and said, "This hat was supposed to be a gift to you from your father."

Zatanna looked at Doctor Fate, eyes wide. "Really?"

Doctor Fate nodded. "He was going to give it to you when he deemed you ready to have one of your own."

"Well," Zatanna said, with a smile, "that explains why he never let me buy one of my own." She smiled at Doctor Fate, "Thank you." She looked back at the hat again and frowned. "So should I wear it from now on, or what?"

Doctor Fate folded his arms. "That… is for you to decide."

Zatanna thought for a moment and shook her head. "My dad wanted me to have this when he thought I was ready to have one." She smiled sadly at Doctor Fate. "I'll respect his wishes."

Doctor Fate nodded in understanding. "I'm sure he wouldn't want it any other way."

M'gann and Captain Marvel took a moment to let this whole scene sink in, before M'gann turned to Captain Marvel and asked, "You said something about a meeting at the Watchtower right? What's it about? Is everything all right?"

Captain Marvel sighed. "Well, we're thinking about letting more people into the Justice League," he uncomfortably pulled on his collar, "and they're also considering making a few… cuts."

M'gann couldn't believe her ears. "They thinking about cutting members from the Justice League?! Who?" Captain Marvel smiled weakly and pointed at Doctor Fate and then himself. M'gann's eyes grew wide. "They're thinking about cutting you off from the League?! Why?!"

Captain Marvel sighed. "They didn't take the whole me-being-a-kid thing too well."

"But that's crazy!" Zatanna cried. "You've been such a big help to the League!"

"That's what I said," Doctor Fate said. He looked at the clock. "We must be going now."

"Holy moley, he's right! We only have three minutes left!" Captain Marvel turned to race to the Zeta-Beam, but stopped himself, turned around, and gave the girls a quick, "Happy Thanksgiving you guys!" before zooming off.

The two girls waved goodbye and cried, "Happy Thanksgiving to you too Billy!"

Down the hallway, they could hear Captain Marvel yell, "Don't call me Billy!" A pause. "You coming Doc?!"

Doctor Fate sighed. "That boy…." He flew out of the room.

"Come back anytime!" M'gann cried. She looked at Zatanna, who was looking at the magician's hat in her hands. M'gann gently placed one of her hands on one of Zatanna's shoulders. "You okay?"

Zatanna looked up and gave her a small smile. "A little bit better than before."


End file.
